


movement

by clicheusername5678



Series: Catradora Oneshots [3]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, High School AU, Hozier, Light Angst, Song Fic (Kinda), dance au, the author knows nothing about dance but tried her best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 02:25:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17013807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clicheusername5678/pseuds/clicheusername5678
Summary: Dance AU where Catra and Adora are put together for a duet.





	movement

Adora just didn’t like Catra’s style.

That’s all there was to it, she insisted—the other girl had a passion for experimental dance, while Adora favored the contemporary, all intentional movement and resolute strength. Catra danced like those exploding rocks kids would throw on the neighborhood street the girls grew up on. Adora had since evolved, grown, risen to the caliber of the prestigious Etheria Dance Academy, which had accepted them both on scholarship at the age of twelve.

They were eighteen years old now and hadn’t said a word to each other in months. Adora had quickly shown herself to be one of the school’s most promising performers, gravitating to a group of friends who liked to call themselves the Princesses, in reference to the flowy and gorgeous garments they often wore during routines.

Catra had taken a different path. Although she worked hard to earn her scholarship—she would never deny that golden ticket out of the foster system—she focused more on the school’s alternative dance scene. This year she had become Force Captain of the Horde Dance Collective, a group of controversial performers who aimed to disrupt the classical routine.

Adora had not always been a Princess. Up until last year, the girls’ junior year, she had also been a member of the Horde, her performances with Catra having a strange beauty that stunned audiences into silence.

But, under the advice of her academic advisor Angella, Adora had finally severed connections with the Horde. Months ago, she had passed on the Force Captain position to Catra and abandoned her longtime friend for full-time commitment to the Princesses and their Bright Moon competitive troupe.

She had also withdrawn from her roommate-ship with Catra, instead moving in with Glimmer, fellow princess and daughter of Angella. Glimmer was at the school with a full ride as well, but not from some sad-orphan scholarship. The Bright Moon troupe had their own house on the school’s campus, known for its strenuous training sessions and weekend parties.

Adora knew Catra hated her for what she had done. But it had been for good reason—now that she was a senior, Angella told her that she’d have to be performing her best for college scouts, and the dancing from the Horde just wasn’t impressive or technical enough to catch the professional eye. She had attempted to explain this to Catra, and even asked her to join the Bright Moon house, but Catra had been stubborn and aloof as usual.

“I don’t need your pity, Adora,” she had said in that biting, lowered tone. “I happen to like the Horde, and I’ll be a better Force Captain than you ever were.”

Adora had the distinct sense that Catra had been lying to protect her true feelings, but the intimidating glares of her crew members behind her had indicated that it was time to go. Since that interaction, the girls had basically refused to interact, glaring at each other across the room in classes and dancing in increasingly opposite natures, their shared routines forgotten.

Until today, the morning of the Etheria Academy Dance-A-Thon, an annual event that raised money to protect LGBT+ youth.

“I don’t want to dance with her,” Adora said, crossing her arms over her chest. She wore a white dress, flowy and loose, with golden accents on the chest and arms. Angella sighed and looked towards the green room, where the Bright Moon troupe prepared for their routine.

“I know it’s sudden,” Angella said, “but the Dance-A-Thon organizers double-booked the time slot for Bright Moon and the Horde. The best solution Miss Weaver and I could reach is a combined performance.”

“Okay, then I’ll dance with Lonnie. Or Rogelio. Hell, I’ll even dance with Kyle.”

Angella shook her head. “You know colleges will be paying attention. I’m upset that you can’t dance with Bright Moon—after all, my own daughter is in the troupe—but at least you and Catra have chemistry onstage.”

Adora turned bright red. “We— _what?_  She hates me! We haven’t talked in months!”

Angella rolled her eyes. “I’m telling you what you need to do if you want to get yourself out there. Dance with Catra—she’s already told Weaver she’s agreed.”

“I highly doubt that,” Adora muttered under her breath.

“She’s in the practice room already,” Angella said. “If you won’t dance with her, I’ll ask Glimmer.”

Adora shook her head, refocusing her interests on the prize: college scholarship, further training, performance stardom. When she and Catra were kids, Catra would draw her as an ass-kicking but graceful warrior in white—She-Ra. That was who she wanted to be, onstage, someday.

It was just sad that Catra, at some point, had stopped being part of that image.

“Fine,” Adora said, cracking her knuckles. “I’ll dance with Catra.”

“Bright Moon and the Horde thank you,” Angella said. “And I’ll definitely be complaining to Principal Hope about the double-booking. Why she keeps putting Hordak in organizational positions, I have no idea.”

Adora rolled her eyes, groaned, and headed for the practice room. There were about two hours until the performance, and she already knew they were going to be longest of her life.

~

Catra was still deciding which song Adora would hate the most.

She smirked, back to the door, as she heard the other girl enter. “Hey, Ado—”

“ _Don’t_  say it,” Adora interrupted, crossing her arms over her chest. Catra took a second to look Adora over—hair tied tight, minimal makeup, semi-transparent Princess dress. Bare legs, bare feet.

Catra didn’t dress like a princess when she danced—she dressed like a warrior. Stretchy pants, maroon and ripped, black toe socks, black tight tank, her hair wild and free.

“Just choosin’ the song, your majesty,” Catra hummed, turning back to her iPhone, which rested on the speaker dock. She was grateful for her messy nest of brown hair, which obscured her freckled face from the other girl.

Yeah, Catra had been surprised when Weaver had demanded the Horde share Bright Moon’s slot—and even more horrified when she was instructed to dance with Adora herself. But hey, she thrived in the chaos. It was all she knew, clawing and reaching, her dancing more like fighting than an act of art.

And, besides, it wasn’t as though she minded all the college scouts watching. Who knew? Maybe Catra would out-dance Adora and rip a college scholarship right out of her hands. She was Force Captain now, after all, and had improved quite a bit since the girls had last performed a duet.

“The song,” Adora said dryly, looking over Catra’s shoulder but still keeping quite the obnoxious distance. Catra hated how her skin nearly screamed out for the other girl to come closer, the line tattoos on her tan arms fully exposed.

“Uh-huh,” Catra said. “You got any suggestions?”

“I usually go for something slow,” Adora said. “But you like your…”

“Crazy stuff, yeah.”

“Not to mention the 2000’s emo phase that never ended.”

Catra scowled and turned her head around. “Fuck you, blink-182 are good!”

Adora pantomimed holding a microphone. “ _WHERE ARE YOU? AND I’M SO SORRY—_ ”

“ _Graugh_ , A _do_ ra!”

Catra froze when she realized that her hands were around the other girl’s wrists. Her heart pounded when she noticed the blush creeping onto Adora’s face.

“Let’s not put that in the choreo,” Catra muttered as she pulled away. She hid her face as she scrolled through her Spotify library.

“Oh, wait,” Adora said, pointing at the screen. “What about Hozier?”

“Lesbian legend,” Catra said with a mock-reverence. “Huh, not the usual Horde fare, but…”

“It could work,” Adora said. “He just came out with another single—have you heard it?”

Something stung about the fact that Adora had to ask. If the girls had been still living together during the release, they would have blasted it in the room for days. But now, they were basically strangers to each other… except, not at all.

“‘Movement,’” Catra read the name of the song, tapping it on the screen. Adora nodded as the intro came through the room’s speakers and she walked over to the mats and mirrored wall. She silently experimented with choreography as Catra watched from the bar, one eyebrow raised.

She was beautiful, Catra had to admit. The way she used her body to convey emotions—passion, sadness, longing—was surreal, nearly inhuman. It’s like Adora became someone else when she danced, but at the same time… she was just so much more  _her_.

Catra frowned and shook her head—she was being stupid. She had cried over Adora for nearly a month after she left, hiding her feelings of abandonment under bitterness and rage. Now, she was cool as cucumber. Except Catra hated cucumbers… for some reason.

“Cute,” Catra teased as the song reached its chorus. “My turn.”

Adora scoffed and stepped aside, putting her hands on her hips. “Sure,” she said. “Like you could do any better.”

Catra growled and hit the floor. She turned her back to Adora and faced the mirror instead. She tried to ignore Adora’s reflection, her eyes focused on Catra’s every move, as she began to dance.

The intensity of the chorus matched Catra’s style of dance, which consisted of severe jerks and contortions, not hip hop or isolation, but also not as technical as Bright Moon’s typical groove. It was violent, raw, expressive in a way entirely different from Adora’s dancing. When Catra danced, there was no doubt that she was working up a sweat.

“Wow,” Adora said under her breath. “You’ve been working hard.”

Catra smirked as the song played on, finally taking a break. “Like what you see?”

“You wish.”

“Not anymore, Princess. I’ve moved on.”

Adora frowned as Catra chugged from her water bottle.

“Hold on,” Adora said, her voice serious. “You’re… seeing someone?”

Catra smirked, but her heart beat against her chest, and it wasn’t just from the physical exertion. She placed her water bottle back on the floor and launched back into her routine, this time stronger and angrier as she jumped across the room, moving like her ass was on fire.

Adora grunted with annoyance and joined Catra, her still languid and light, although more liberated than it would likely be during class.

Catra, annoyed by Adora’s invasion of her practice space, edged closer to the other girl. On a particular wide extension, Adora bumped up against Catra, who pushed back and toppled them both to the ground.

“Fuck!” Catra shouted as the song ended. She sat up and glared at Adora. “I’m not seeing anyone, you dumb asshole. Only person I’m seeing is a fucking therapist.”

“Oh,” Adora said quietly. “Well, that’s good.”

“Screw you.” Catra stood up and reached for her phone. “I’m outta here.”

“But Miss Weaver and Angella—”

“Can kiss my ass,” Catra interrupted, disconnecting her phone. “It’s just… not worth it.”

“It’s worth it to me,” Adora said. “The scholarships, the visibility—”

“ _You_ ,” Catra said. “You’re not worth it, anymore. Being close to you. I  _loved_  you, you idiot. And then you left me, for the Princesses, and Bright Moon.”

Adora stayed on the ground, shell-shocked. “You… what?”

Catra groaned and put her head in her hands. “Forget it. I’m out. Enjoy your solo—I’m sure the colleges will love it.”

The brunette turned to leave but was shocked to feel a strong grip on her arm.

“No,” Adora said. Catra lifted her head and was stunned to see the other girl crying. “Not without you.”

“What the hell are you—”

“I’m so sorry for leaving you like that,” Adora said. “It never occurred to me that you’d feel so… betrayed. Abandoned. I swear, I didn’t mean—”

“Yeah, well,” Catra said, shoving Adora off, “you really did, so—”

“But I love you too!”

Catra paused again. If her ears could perk up, they would.

“I’m serious,” Adora continued, her voice soft. “Ever since we were, like, fifteen. I never wanted to say the word itself—love—because, well, it seemed unnecessary. We just  _were_. But now we’re older, and everything’s changing, and God, I fucked it all up…”

Catra’s heterochromatic eyes opened wide. “No,” she said quietly. “It’s… okay. Don’t cry. Really, Adora, don’t cry, or I’ll…”

“I missed you, Catra,” Adora said, “so much, when we weren’t talking. These months have felt like years. You’re the only one who understands the foster system, you’re the only one with your dumb snarky sense of humor, you’re the only person I’ll ever let onto my goddamn bed…”

Adora wiped her dewy eyes with her wrists, and then gently grabbed for Catra’s. She walked the girl back to the center of the room, her gaze entrancing.

“I don’t know what to do now,” Catra said lowly. “But, yeah, Adora… I missed you too.”

“Then let’s just dance,” Adora said, moving her hands from Catra’s wrists to her waist.

Catra sniffled as a tear ran down her cheek. “But we don’t have music.”

“We can fix that.”

“And everything’s, like, really,  _really_  screwed up.”

“We can fix that, too.”

Catra blinked, and then separated from Adora’s touch. She re-docked her phone and began the same song again.

As the introduction faded in Catra made her way back to the floor, holding Adora’s waist as the other girl had done with her before. Adora raised an eyebrow but leaned into Catra, trusting her instinctively after nearly a decade of cooperation.

_“I still watch you when you’re groovin’_

_As if through water from the bottom of a pool_

_You’re movin’ without movin’_

_And when you move, I’m moved._

The pair disconnected and thrust themselves apart, mirroring each other’s manic motions, Catra taking the lead and Adora following. They faced the mirror and stared into the eyes of each other’s reflection, desperate and longing and raw.

_You are a call to motion_

_There, all of you a verb in perfect view_

_Like Jonah on the ocean_

_When you move, I’m moved._

They met in the center of the floor again, engaged in combat through dance, swinging towards one another. They refused to touch but came close, over and over again, back and forth and back and forth.

_When you move_

_I'm put to mind of all that I wanna be_

_When you move_

_I could never define all that you are to me._

And then, just like that, the tension broke—Adora leapt into Catra’s arms, and Catra caught her. Adora spread her legs and lifted her arms in a stiff but beautiful pose, while Catra supported her and slowly turned her around, seemingly offering her to the heavens. Adora looked up at first, but then back down, tenderly cupping Catra’s face below her.

_So move me, baby_

_Shake like the bough of a willow tree_

_You do it naturally_

_Move me, baby._

They maintained eye contact as Catra lowered Adora, who propelled herself away on one knee. Catra also dropped to the floor, her flexibility and agility on display—she posed like a cat, a predator, but a wounded one. She stalked her way over to Adora, who still waited on bended knee, swaying to the next verse. Catra’s movement came in sudden freakish bursts, limbs outstretched, licking against the ground like a forest fire.

_You are the rite of movement_

_Its reasonin' made lucid and cool_

_I know it's no improvement_

_When you move, I move._

Catra met with Adora, who accepted her against her bended form. Their bodies pressed together, weights supporting each other, the two rose in unison, face to face and nose touching nose. They pulled away, suddenly, but still remained connected by one hand. Catra supported Adora as she took a dramatic dive, spinning in graceful circles on her bare heels, her white dress fluttering around her strong legs.

_You're less Polunin leapin'_

_Or Fred Astaire in sequins_

_Honey, you, you're Atlas in his sleepin'_

_And when you move, I'm moved._

Catra brought Adora back up and let her hand go, frozen for a moment. Adora frowned, removed from her state of bliss, and placed a firm hand on Catra’s shoulder.

“You okay?”

Catra sniffled as the music played on. “Y-yeah. I just… dunno why I wasted so much effort on hating you. You’re…”

“ _Sh_ ,” Adora sounded, pressing a finger to Catra’s lips. “Here comes the chorus again.”

_So move me, baby_

_Shake like the bough of a willow tree_

_You do it naturally_

_Move me, baby._

Catra took Adora by the waist and dipped her—not an advanced move by any means, but somehow meaningful as hell. Adora looked up at her, stunned, and Catra smiled.

“You’re beautiful, Princess.”

Adora licked her lips. “Force Captain… you’re breathtaking.”

_So move me, baby_

_Like you've nothin' left to prove_

_And nothin' to lose_

_Move me, baby._

**Author's Note:**

> i fuckign loved writing this, despite knowing like 3 total things about dance  
> this fic was requested by @ biguwucatra on tumblr, who you all should definitely follow! she draws catradora all the time, especially dance au stuff, and has a wonderful style and sense of humor.  
> also, you should follow me @ hey-adora


End file.
